Pecan tree named ‘Pueblo’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct variety of pecan tree, denominated ‘Pueblo’, having a columnar tree shape with a nut crop centered in the core of the tree, high precocity, medium-sized nut clusters, early pollen shed, early bud break, and high resistance to scab fungus (Venturia effusa).

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: ‘Pueblo’ is apecan tree that is a Carya illinoinensis.

Variety denomination: The new pecan tree is of the variety denominated‘Pueblo’.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

‘Pueblo’, tested as 1975-08-0005, is a progeny of a 1975 cross between‘Osage’ (not patented) and ‘Creek’ (not patented) pecan cultivars. Theseedling was initially grown in Brownwood, Tex. and was selected forfurther testing due to precocity and early nut maturity. ‘Pueblo’ hasbeen evaluated most extensively in orchards in Burleson County, Tex., ina replicated test that had six blocks, with 35 entries occurring onceper block. ‘Pueblo’ has also been studied in orchards in Hempstead,Tex., and it has also been tested by cooperators in Kansas and Indiana.The establishment of orchards with increased tree density made possibleby a columnar tree shape will accentuate the high precocity of thisselection, increasing profit in the early life of orchards.Concentrating crop in the central core of a columnar tree anddistributing it among many medium-sized clusters may be an appropriatearchitecture for western orchards that are hedged and receive high lightintensity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

‘Pueblo’ is distinguished from other pecan varieties due to thefollowing unique combination of characteristics: a columnar tree shapewith a nut crop centered in the core of the tree, high precocity,medium-sized nut clusters, early pollen shed, early bud break, and highresistance to scab fungus (Venturia effusa). ‘Pueblo’ has not beenobserved under all environmental conditions and cultural practices, andsome characteristics may differ outside of Central Texas or withdifferent management practices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings include color photographs that are as nearlytrue as it is reasonably possible to make in a color illustration ofthis type:

FIG. 1 is a chart showing the pedigree of ‘Pueblo’. The upper branchdepicts the known ancestry of the seed parent (‘Osage’). The lowerbranch depicts the known ancestry of the pollen parent (‘Creek’).

FIG. 2 is a photograph showing scaly bark of ‘Pueblo’. Photo taken inBurleson County, Tex. on Mar. 22, 2021. Age of rootstock at that timewas 36 years. Age of the scion was 29 years.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of leaf architecture of ‘Pueblo’. Photo taken inBurleson County, Tex. on Aug. 10, 2021.

FIG. 4 a is photograph of a red pistillate flower and a mottledred/green ‘Pueblo’ pistillate flower. Photo taken in Burleson County,Tex. on Apr. 19, 2021.

FIG. 4 b is a photograph of a mottled red/green ‘Pueblo’ pistillateflower. Photo taken in Burleson County, Tex. on Apr. 19, 2021.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of a nut panel of ‘Pueblo’. Photo taken inBrownwood, Tex. on Apr. 25, 2010. The nut sample was collected in 2009from tree L-6, Fangue Orchard, Hempstead, Waller County.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of the nut clusters of ‘Pueblo’ (Fangue Orchard,tree D-13. Photo taken in Waller County, Tex. on Sep. 9, 2011.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a nut crop concentrated in the core of a‘Pueblo’ tree canopy (Fangue Orchard, tree F-17. Photo taken in WallerCounty, Tex. on Sep. 8, 2008. Age of scion was 6 years.

FIG. 8 is a photograph of a ‘Pueblo’ tree (left) next to a ‘Choctaw’(not patented) tree (right). Photo taken in Burleson County, Tex. onAug. 22, 2019. Age of the scions at that time was 27 years (on rootsthat were 34 years old).

Due to photographical light, chemical development, processing andprinting, the leaves and fruit depicted in these photographs may or maynot be accurate when compared to the actual botanical specimen.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

All color descriptions are based off of the Munsell Plant Tissue ColorBook: 2012 Year Revision (2019 Printing).

The botanical description below is based on 6 grafted clones of ‘Pueblo’located in the same orchard in Burleson County, Tex. There is no livingortet for ‘Pueblo’. Unless otherwise noted, the observations below werecollected in 2021 (29 years after grafting).

-   Parentage:    -   -   Seed parent.—‘Osage’.        -   Pollen parent.—‘Creek’.-   Tree    -   -   a. Overall shape.—General shape and height to width ratio:            average 1.98. Tree shape is columnar, with narrow canopy            shape permitting increased tree density without crowding.        -   b. Vigor.—Vigorous. ‘Pueblo’ was fruiting 2 years after            grafting.        -   c. Height.—Trees were hedged in 2009, last pre-hedging            height measurement was in 2002. Average Height: 9.93 m            (2002, 10 yrs). Average Height: 18.25 m (2021, 29 yrs).        -   d. Width/trunk diameter.—i. Canopy Width: 7.2 m. ii. Trunk            Diameter: 306 mm.        -   e. Trunk bark texture.—Scaly when Mature.        -   f. Trunk bark color.—2.5Y 5/2.        -   g. Branch color.—i. Woody stage branch shoots: 2.5Y 5/2. ii.            Lenticels: Lenticel shape is highly variable. An average            length would be 1.2 mm. The average width would be            0.9 mm. iii. Lenticel Color: 7.5YR 5/4.        -   h. Internodes.—The average length between the 3^(rd) and            4^(th) leaf from the base of the shoot is 7.66 mm.        -   i. Disease and insect resistance.—i. Pecan Scab, Venturia            effusa (leaf and nut), data from 1994-2007. In our unsprayed            orchards, ‘Pueblo’ has had only trace amounts of either leaf            or nut scab. ii. Blackmargined Aphid, Monetlia caryella            (leaf), data from 2008-2009. ‘Pueblo’ was comparable to            ‘Pawnee’ (not patented) in resistance to blackmargined            aphids (Skrivanek et al. 2013).        -   j. Leaves (data from June 2021).—i. Leaf Arrangement and            Color. 1. Leaves are odd-pinnately compound opposite. 2.            Upper leaf color is 7.5GY 3/4. 3. Lower leaf color is 5GY            4/4. ii. The number of leaves per shoot and the number of            leaflets per mature leaf. 1. Leaves per shoot: 9-16,            Average 12. 2. Leaflets per leaf: 9-13, Average 11. iii. The            angle of leaflet pairs to the rachis: 45°. iv. Leaflet            blade: flat and not convoluted. v. Length and width of a            mature leaf (4^(th) leaf from the base of the shoot). 1.            Length Range: 189-374 mm. Average: 269 mm. 2. Width Range:            170-243 mm. Average: 223 mm. vi. Petiole shape and color.            Petiole shape is circular. Petiole color is 2.5GY 6/8. vii.            Petiole length of the 4^(th) leaf from the base. 1. Length            Range: 34-50 mm. Average: 41 mm. 2. Width Range: 1.4-1.9 mm.            Average: 1.66 mm viii. Leaflet size and shape (4^(th)            leaflet on 4^(th) leaf). 1. Leaflet Size Range: 81-137 mm.            Average: 107 mm. 2. Width Size Range: 23-37 mm. Average:            26 mm. 3. Leaflet shape is falcate with serrate margins, an            oblique base, and acuminate tip. ix. Texture of upper leaf.            The leaf texture is smooth on both the upper and lower            surfaces with a glossy sheen. x. Sheen: glossy. xi.            Petiolule. 1. Petiolule Length Range: 1.33-3.68 mm. Average:            2.17 mm. 2. Petiolule Width Range: 0.82-1.3 mm. Average:            1.02 mm. xii. Margin: Leaf margin is serrate. xiii. Tip            Shape: Leaf tip is acuminate. xiv. Pubescence (Upper leaf            and Lower leaf). Leaf pubescence is mostly glabrous with            occasional pilose regions.-   Inflorescence:    -   -   a. General description.—‘Pueblo’ is monoecious,            anemophilous, and protandrous (Table 1).        -   b. Flowers.—i. The number of pistillate flowers and            arrangement of the flowers. 1-4 individual pistillate            flowers per pedicel spike are borne alternately on            terminally positioned spikes. ii. Description of the            pistillate flower and pedicels. Late pistil receptivity with            reflexed, red stigmas. iii. Staminate catkin length and            width (in mm). 1. Catkin Length Range: 25-65 mm. Average:            46.1 mm. 2. Catkin Width Range: 3-4 mm. Average: 3.1 mm. iv.            Staminate color, pollen color. 1. Staminate color: 2.5GY            6/10. 2. Pollen color: 5Y 8/10. v. Involucre size, including            the stigma (length and width). 1. Involucre Length Range:            9.76-10.48 mm. Involucre Length Average: 10.12 mm. 2.            Involucre Width Range: 2.62-3.04 mm. Involucre Width            Average: 2.83 mm. vi. Description of Anthocyan on stigma.            The stigmas are red sometimes containing patches of            green. vii. Flower pistil color(s). Dominant stigma color is            red (5R 4/6) with occasional splashes of green (5GY            5/6). viii. Number and color of bracts, shape (lanceolate),            flower length and width, and description of petal fusion and            the end resulting flower shape (copular involucre): Three            lanceolate bracteoles are present and one bract (all color:            5G 4/8), the bract is at least twice as long the three            bracteoles. The bracteoles and bract are fused at the base            to form a copular involucre.-   Fruit:    -   -   a. Mature fruit.—Is dehiscent.        -   b. Shuck.—i. Shuck color is 7.5GY 6/8. ii. Shucks open            widely during dehiscence.        -   c. Fruit split.—During water stage has not been observed to            be a problem.        -   d. Shuck decline.—During kernel formation has not been            observed to be a problem.-   Nuts:    -   -   a. Observations are from detailed measurements of five nuts            per year from multiple years.—1994-1999, 2001, 2003, and            2005.        -   b. Size.—i. The average nut length is about 43 mm. The            average nut width is about 23 mm. The length-to-width ratio            is 1.91. ii. Nut cross-section is round with a flatness            ratio (width across sutures to the width between sutures) of            1.02.        -   c. Form.—i. The shape of the nut with the shape of the            cross-section. The nut is oblong-elliptic shaped (length to            height ratio 1.96) with a round cross section. ii. Base            shape: Oblique. iii. Apex shape: Oblique. iv. Presence and            locations of defining features: Nut apex is slightly            grooved. v. Description of shell suture: Often, but not            always, elevated. vi. Description of shell surface: Black            (5R 0/0) lines and patches stretch from the apex to the            midpoint of the nut, covering up to 50% of the upper nut            surface. vii. Description of shell topography: Smooth.        -   d. Dorsal grooves.—Kernels have deep, but wide dorsal            grooves that do not trap packing material.        -   e. Ventral grooves.—Kernels have a narrow, shallow ventral            groove.        -   f. Weight.—8.49 g.        -   g. Cluster size.—On average 1.87 nuts per cluster        -   h. Shell topography.—Generally smooth, with a slight ridge            on the suture.        -   i. Shell thickness.—0.98 mm average, moderately thick.        -   j. Shell color.—7.5YR 4/4.        -   k. Kernel color.—Golden kernel color: 7.5YR 6/4.        -   l. Kernel percentage.—54.8% Average.        -   m. Nut maturity date.—September 19th.        -   n. Harvest ability.—Nuts from ‘Pueblo’ mature in a uniform            timeline.

COMPARISON TO OTHER VARIETIES

‘Pueblo’ is a new pecan cultivar that is characterized by itsprecocious, regular, and prolific production of good quality nutsallowing early harvest from a compact tree with a columnar canopy. Itsnarrow canopy shape permits planting trees at an increased densitywithout crowding. The time of spring bud break for ‘Pueblo’ is generallylate March in Burleson County, Tex., before the bud break of any otherstandard cultivars in our test (Table 2) and is about 11 days ahead of‘Pawnee’. No damage has been observed from late spring freezes—includinga prolonged freeze in Texas in early February 2021. ‘Pueblo’ has beentested as far north as southeastern Kansas and performs well. ‘Pueblo’has dark forest green leaves comparable to ‘Pawnee’. Leaflet orientationis similar to most pecan trees, wherein the opposite leaflet pairs areoriented about 45 degrees from the rachis (FIG. 3 ).

‘Pueblo’ is protandrous, with early pollen shed and late pistilreceptivity (Table 1), slightly ahead of ‘Pawnee’. It usually bears 1-4alternately-positioned pistillate flowers per pedicel spike. ‘Pueblo’has pistillate flowers with reflexed, red stigmas, similar to its pollenparent ‘Creek’, but contrasting to the green stigmas of its femaleparent ‘Osage’. Some flowers exhibited a more mottled coloration ofpatches of green and red (FIG. 4 ).

Within the fungicide-treated orchards in Burleson County, Tex., ‘Pueblo’exhibited similar leaf scab fungus susceptibility to the other cultivarsin the test and displayed resistance to nut scab comparable to ‘Houma’(not patented) but greater than ‘Pawnee’ (Table 3). In addition, itsseed parent, ‘Osage’ and pollen parent ‘Creek’, both have excellent scabresistance. However, ‘Pueblo’ is likely to require fungicide managementin more humid environments.

‘Pueblo’ has been a consistent producer of good quality nuts that matureearly and are ready to harvest in mid-September in Central Texas, at thesame time as ‘Pawnee’ (Table 4). The seed parent ‘Osage’ bears manysmall nuts very early (about a week before ‘Pawnee’), while the pollenparent ‘Creek’ bears in early to mid-September. The average nut weightis 8.5 grams for ‘Pueblo’, compared to 10.3 g for ‘Desirable’ and 9.4for ‘Pawnee’. The average number of nuts per pound is 53.8 for ‘Pueblo’compared to 44.4 for ‘Desirable’ (not patented) and 48.9 for ‘Pawnee’.‘Pueblo’ has a slightly longer nut than ‘Desirable’ and ‘Choctaw’ (notpatented) and is slightly shorter than ‘Pawnee’ with a similar nut widthto height ratio. Nut percent kernel averages 55 percent with a goldenkernel color (FIG. 5 ). Its seed parent, ‘Osage’, has 54 percent kernel.‘Pueblo’ also bears its nut crop throughout the tree's canopy (FIG. 7 ),as opposed to most pecan varieties which only bear at the growing tips.Combined with its compact shape, this tendency allows for greater yieldsunder a hedged orchard management strategy like those commonly employedin the western United States. ‘Pueblo’ has medium suture wings from thebase of the nut to the apex, similar to ‘Stuart’ (as in FIG. 6 ), butoften with more prominent wings at the base of the nut (as is visible inFIG. 7 ).

Yield data indicate that ‘Pueblo’ has greater precocity than standardcultivars used as controls ‘Choctaw’, ‘Desirable’, ‘Houma’, ‘Oconee’(not patented), and ‘Pawnee’. Both the seed parent ‘Osage’ and pollenparent ‘Creek’ are very precocious. Yields were comparable or exceededthose of controls averaging 25.5 lbs/tree in the 6-8th leaf of the testcompared to 9.3 for ‘Desirable’ and 10 for ‘Pawnee’ (Table 5). ‘Pueblo’averages 2.04 nuts per cluster (with a trend of increasing nuts percluster with age), which is less than ‘Pawnee’ at 2.83 nuts per cluster(Table 6). ‘Pueblo’ may be susceptible to overbearing with advanced ageand require manual crop thinning.

Further detailed information is presented in the tables below:

TABLE 1 Period of pollen shedding and stigma receptivity of 6 pecancultivars in 2021 in Burleson County, TX. Chart with Receptivity Windows(Y = Pollen Shed, X = Pistillate Receptivity). Type I = Protandrous.Type II = Protogynous. 2^(nd) Week 3^(rd) Week 4^(th) Week 5^(th) Week1^(st) Week April April April April May Choctaw Y Y (Type II) X XDesirable Y Y (Type I) X X Houma Y Y (Type I) X X X Oconee Y Y (Type I)X X X Pawnee Y Y (Type I) X X X Pueblo Y Y (Type I) X X

TABLE 2 Comparison of 5 yr mean date of bud break for 6 cultivars inBurleson County, TX. Data from 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2021. 5 YrDate of Bud Break Average (1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2021) Choctaw April5th Desirable March 28th Houma March 30th Oconee March 30th Pawnee April4th Pueblo March 24th

TABLE 3 Comparison of average leaf and fruit scab susceptibility of 6replicates of 6 cultivars across 7 and 11 years, respectively (data from1994-2007) in fungicide managed orchards in Burleson County, TX. HunterRobert's Scale: 1 = No scab lesions, 5 = Greater than 50% coverage ofleaves or fruit with scab lesions. 7 Yr Nut Scab Average 11 Yr Leaf ScabAverage (fungicide treated) (fungicide treated) Hunter-Roberts ScaleHunter-Roberts Scale Choctaw 2.25 1.83 Desirable 2.47 1.97 Houma 1.681.74 Oconee 2.12 1.93 Pawnee 3.14 2.03 Pueblo 1.80 1.95

TABLE 4 Comparison of average nut characteristics (Wt./nut [g], Nuts/lbs[no.], Nut length [mm], Nut Length/width, Nut flatness [ratio of nutwidth across suture to between suture], Kernel [percentage], NutMaturity Date [75% shuck dehiscence] of 6 cultivars for trees inBurleson County, TX from 1994-2003. Nut Width to Nut Nut Shuck NutLength Weight Kernel Nuts Split Height mm gm Percent Per Lb (75%) RatioChoctaw 41.8  9.6 54.8 49.1 19-Oct. 1.0 Desirable 41.2 10.3 53.7 44.418-Oct. 1.0 Houma 38.6  7.8 47.8 59.0 26-Oct. 1.0 Oconee 44.9 10.7 58.142.8  7-Oct. 1.1 Pawnee 44.3 9.4 59.1 48.9 15-Sep. 0.9 Pueblo 42.9 8.554.8 53.8 19-Sep. 1.0

TABLE 5 Comparison of Average Dry Weight Nut Yield (lbs/tree) of 6replicates of 6 cultivars growing in one orchard in Burleson County, TXfrom 1994-2003. Precocity (years to initial fruiting after nurserytransplant) can also be interpreted from this data. These trees weregrafted in 1992. Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 7 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998Choctaw 0.00 0.97 1.27  5.63  0.00 Desirable 0.00 1.90 1.64  4.35  8.40Houma 0.09 2.78 3.05  9.78  4.17 Oconee 0.00 0.75 0.56  0.90 12.73Pawnee 0.05 1.57 3.37  5.75 18.17 Pueblo 0.34 5.18 2.31 15.62 29.67 Yr 8Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 12 1999 2000 2001 2003 Choctaw 19.50 12.57 53.05 56.80Desirable 15.13 17.38 25.58 55.19 Houma 23.57 23.90  9.90 48.60 Oconee 9.90 12.09 45.28 46.92 Pawnee  6.20 29.17 43.51 50.77 Pueblo 31.3020.76 53.49 53.76

TABLE 6 Comparison of Average Fruit Cluster Size (Fruits/Cluster [no.])of 6 replicates of 6 cultivars at Burleson County, TX in afour-to-five-year period (1994-2002, 2008, 2011). The 2008 and 2011 datafor ‘Pueblo’ was reconstructed from photographs. There were nocomparable photographs for the control varieties. Yr 3 Yr 6 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr11 Yr 17 Yr 20 7 Year 1994 1997 1999 2000 2002 2008 2011 Average Choctaw— 2.80 2.87 2.37 1.7 — — 2.43 Desirable — 2.32 2.75 1.8  1.27 — — 2.03Houma 2.20 2.72 3.35 2.15 2 — — 2.48 Oconee — 1.50 2.07 1.25 1.3 — —1.53 Pawnee 3.00 3.43 3.17 2.58 1.98 — — 2.83 Pueblo 1.80 2.20 1.97 1.731.65 2.41 2.53 2.04

We claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of pecan tree named ‘Pueblo’ asillustrated and described herein.